Thanks For Saving Me
by fabiaela
Summary: She was queen back in her high school days; She'd fallen a long way since. Now Blair goes by a new title: Lonely Girl. Who will reach out help her?


A/N: DAIR & CHAIR and all that is Blair (I adore her); enjoy!!! This is my first ever fanfic, i'm alway on this site reading them and finally got the energy and the courage to write my own. Please review :)

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She fell right down the college entrance steps and right into… _Dan Humphrey's_ arms!

"Thanks for saving me" Blair whispered breathlessly, still in shock from her near death experience; she looked up at her saviour and gave him a grateful smile.

Dan smiled back, he wasn't used to being the recipient of anything nice from Blair Waldorf, and had never expected to be either, even if he had saved her from breaking an arm or two. A 'thanks' _and_ a smile, though nothing but the norm if it was any other girl, was a bit overwhelming coming from Blair AKA Blairzilla: Society Bitch.

"I'm not sure why I did but you're welcome, I guess" he quipped. Blair scowled and unlatched herself from his grip. Her heart was beating at 120 mph it seemed; 40 mph from her near fatal trip and another 80 as she felt the hands of Dan Humphrey firmly grasp at her waist. _What the hell is going on with me?_ An adrenaline rush from the trip she tried to assure herself but that didn't explain the burning sensation left by his touch.

Hurrying away from Dan, not willing to spend another second sharing the same air as him, Blair took out her cell and pressed one on speed-dial. Hearing _his_ voice would quickly clear her head of any strange thoughts about another man.

"Hello?"

"So guess who needs decontaminating because she was touched by something from Brooklyn! I had a-"

"Look Blair," Chuck interrupted, "Can't you tell me this at dinner? Bass industries can't run itself."

"Oh…sure, sorry…" she said lamely, "I'll see you at Arabelle's later th-"

The dialling tone rang in her ear. Blair sighed, it stung that she wasn't the centre of Chuck's world anymore, his work had replaced her. She would never admit it out loud but she was lonely, not just because of Chuck but because of Serena who was always busy lately and NYU which was no place for the type of queen she was (meaning the heterosexual kind) but rather the type that abhorred monarchy and had despicable teeth because of their diet of coffee and cigarettes. It seemed things were at their lowest if Blair Waldorf was being dubbed by Gossip Girl as the one and only 'Lonely Girl', which had been the case for some time now. Blair frowned as the phone call which was supposed to take her mind off what she had just felt with Dan had instead made her yearn even more for that feeling to return, along with the person who created it…

"I finally caught up with you" Dan gasped, putting his hand on her shoulder to stop her, they were outside Cinema Classics. He felt her tense at his touch and at that moment worried for his life realising the error of his action – he was sure Blair Waldorf would not approve of him casually touching her, they weren't exactly chummy. Blair spun around, quickly shrugging him off whilst putting on the best _you-disgust-me _face she could muster. She didn't really feel disgusted as she had gotten used to Dan's presence, he wasn't that foreigner from Brooklyn anymore, not since Rufus had married Lily. Though it wouldn't appear so, Blair was actually thrilled to see Dan but had gotten a shock as it was sooner than expected (thus explaining the tenseness).

"You've mastered the device man invented to keep women from running away, I see" nodding at her 5 inch Louboutins in an attempt to lighten the mood, "You looked like a woman on a mission". He rubbed the back of his neck out of nervous habit.

Blair smiled, more to herself than at him. "Six years of walking in heels and a lifetime of running away, of course I'm a pro."

Dan couldn't help but notice the forlorn look on Blair's face; it affected him in a strange way. He felt a strong urge to protect her.

"What do you want" Blair snapped after he didn't say anything.

"Oh," breaking out of his reverie, he took a pen out of his breast pocket and handed it to her. "You dropped this."

"A pen? You chased after me because of a pen?" her voice laced with cynicism contrary to her thoughts and the strong thump of her heart. It was awfully sweet of him to do that.

"Well it looks pretty expensive, I thought it might be important." He looked down at the gold fountain pen, brushing his thumb over the engraved initials, _B.W._

"It is." Blair frowned, grabbing it off him, a jolt of electricity going through both of them as she touched his hand in the process. Dan looked down into Blair's eyes for a long moment searching for an explanation to this unbelievable and impossible attraction. Dan couldn't accept this lightening quick change of feeling, he had hated her yesterday for goodness sake! Then again underneath all the hatred there had always been something else; he admired her strength and cunning even if it scared him a little, and liked the way she looked after the people she cared about, his heart had even ached for her on occasion when she let him see her weaknesses. Deep down he knew Blair the Bitch was a cover up for Blair the Broken but this still didn't explain why he felt these new sensations whilst looking at her.

Blair turned away first, this was not the _O.C._! The Marissa and Ryan story line had already been done- with Serena her _best_ friend! Though she couldn't help but think Dan was much more like Seth. There was also the little fact that remained – she had a boyfriend whom she loved very much, she couldn't let this feeling take over her, the consequences were too great. Loneliness began to envelope her once more weighing heavy on her heart. No! It was too much to bear._ Nothing has to happen, I'll just spend some time with him_ was Blair's resolution.

"Well I should-" Dan began.

"I won't say thank you, instead I'll repay you right now." She interrupted. Blair then went away and purchased two tickets for a Roman Holiday.

"You're repaying me with the pleasure of your company?" Dan asked raising his eyebrows as he took a ticket. He knew he should have turned her down, it was a dangerous game he was getting himself into but Dan wasn't as clever as he let everyone believe. _We could be friends….she'd be great material for my writing _was what Dan told himself, knowing, however, that this wasn't his only reason.

"Roman Holiday is a classic!"

"I know, I know. Even I can't resist the charms of Gregory Peck." Was Dan's wisecrack, spoken as he followed her into the building.

Blair clasped her hands together in delight, "Indeed! And Audrey Hepburn is so wonderful." She exclaimed.

"My dream girl I'll have you know." he whispered as they entered the dimly lit screening room.

Blair stopped in her tracks causing Dan to bump into her. "Really?" she said sounding surprised "but she's so unlike Serena. Serena's more of a Marilyn Monroe." _I'm Audrey _she thought to herself.

"Serena was my second dream girl and a much more attainable one at that" he said winking at Blair. "But Marilyn Monroe? You know Serena's not an airhead." He added on a sterner note, defending his ex-girlfriend.

"Neither was Monroe, she just let people believe she was. Anyway I was referring to their uninhibited personalities."

They took their seats in the near empty show room waiting for the movie to begin. Dan was surprised at how normal he could be around Blair, he didn't think it was possible; then again this didn't seem like the scheming, manipulative girl he was so well acquainted with, it was as if she had lowered her walls for him. Hearing the _click clack_ of shoes Dan looked down to see Blair attempting to take her shoes off without her hands; she was having difficulty. Smiling, he bent down to undo the straps for her, surprising Blair - it was such a boyfriend like thing to do. She then started giggling as he clumsily fumbled to undo the buckle, Dan turned beet red at the tinkling sound of her laughter.

"Shit." he mumbled as he continued to fail at getting Blair's shoes off. Grinning and rolling her eyes, Blair leaned down to do the job herself only to knock heads with Dan who was coming up to declare his defeat.

"Ouch!" they both yelped.

"Watch it!" Blair sniped with an angry look on her face. Dan feared he'd just knocked Blair back into her normal self.

"Hey, we we're bo-" he began but stopped abruptly as he caught her grinning then laughing, the sound so compelling he could not help but join in. Dan observed this girl who was so un-Blair like. Though he knew she was full of flaws he had always viewed her as the epitome of a lady; very prim and proper, full of elegance etc but this? Sitting in a cinema without shoes on, laughing like an idiot, it was anything but ladylike. This new Blair was like a magnet, drawing him to her, Dan Humphrey couldn't resist, he wanted more. The movie started rolling and Blair went silent.

"I like it when you laugh." Dan whispered casually after a while, his mouth a bit too close to her ear; he peered through the darkness trying to catch her reaction. Blair's eyes widened momentarily, she did not turn to look at him but smiled.

"I'd forgotten what it's like to laugh, it's such an alien thing," Blair spoke softly; she was ready to bear a little bit of her soul to Dan "When I was queen of Constance I'd mastered how to fake one but in the process forgot where I put my real one…. Chuck and Serena reminded me but recently I've had no reason to laugh at all." Not once did she look at Dan as she spoke.

Dan felt a tug at his heart strings, it was easy to forget Blair had feelings because of her cold queen-like demeanour. He pitied her, wanted to comfort her. The mention of Chuck, and even Serena, made him slightly jealous, they had witnessed this Blair too, a girl that could shine even more brightly than her radiant best friend, he wished she was his alone. Dan was shook by these selfish thoughts, they surprised him.

"Let me be your reason." He said earnestly.

At that Blair looked at him, eyes wide in shock. "Dan…" she said softly, for the first time ever at a loss for words. Dan liked hearing Blair speak his name, it produced a loud thump in his chest. He wanted so much to kiss her that moment but knew that would just result in her raising her guard, he wasn't going to let that happen.

"I want to be there for you. We can just be friends for now if that's what you want…how about it?" He asked nervously.

Blair was stunned, he was offering to be her pillar, her friend. She nodded. _Thank you Dan_.

Dan beamed, unsure why getting permission to be Blair's friend was able to turn him into one of the world's happiest idiots.

Finally they settled, 'watching' the movie. Both looked but didn't see, too wrapped up in the moment which was made perfect when Dan covered Blair's hand with his own. Like this they sat comfortably for the duration of the film. They left the building smiling at each other. Any outsider would have thought them a happy couple; any insider would have thought so much more, took a picture and sent it to Gossip Girl.

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A/N II - In my first draft he kissed her but it didn't seem right, I want it to go deeper than that or at least keep my options open if I continue. Next chap will have mostly CHAIR 3


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